Locking device for trunks, chests and the like



Sept. 22, 1936. Ef 2,054,90?

-LOCKING-DEVICE FOR TRUNKS, CHESTS AND THE LIKE Filed March 3, 1952 1a 1 1a a F 12 11 Patented Sept. 22, 1936 PATENT OFFICE LOCKING DEVICE FOR TRUNKS, CHESTS AND THE LIKE Lon Julien Mollet, Asnieres, France, assignor to Societe Anonyme Des Usines Chausson, As-

nieres, France Application March 3, 1932, Serial No. 596,639 In France March 18, 1931 1 Claim.

This invention relates to a closing and locking device for swingable closures and particularly for trunks and chests having swingable lids as in the case for example of the trunks carried at the back of motor vehicles.

An object of this invention is to provide a latching device for trunk lids or the like in which an operating handle is yieldingly restrained against movement when the lid is open, and in which operation of the handle retains the latching hook against disengagement.

In the accompanying drawing which illustrates by way of example one practical constructional form of locking device- Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic side view of the device applied to a trunk having a swinging lid, the trunk being shown wide open.

Fig. 2 is a similar view of the trunk completely closed.

This invention is shown in its application to a trunk of a well known type which may be used as a motor car trunk to be placed at the back of the vehicle and in which one of the vertical panels I may be hinged to the bottom as indicated at 2 and the top lid 1 l is swingable around a hinge Il The top lid II is provided with a handle I2 swinging around a pivot I3. A hook l4 provided with a guiding cam slot I6 is pivoted at M upon the handle [2 and a pin or spur l5 secured upon the lid ll extends into the slot It. A spring I! is connected at one end to a pin I8 in the closure or lid and at its other end to a a pin l9 carried by the hook l4 at a point spaced 35 from the pivot I l of the hook. A staple is secured by soldering upon a fixed part of the trunk.

When the lid is in closed position the handle cannot turn in the direction of the arrow 1' (Fig. 40 1) as the. bottom of groove I6 strikes pin I5 which prevents further movement.

When the hook l4 comes in the position indicated in dotted lines by I4 in Fig. 1, the staple 20 causes it to swing in the direction indicated by the arrow f As soon as the hook has swung down the handle I2 is free and the effort exerted upon the handle to complete the downward movement of the lid tends to rotate said handle around its pivot l3, the spring I! acting also in the same way so that the hook I4 is pushed in the staple 20 (Fig. 2) thus insuring the locking of the lid.

While I have illustrated and described by way of example the preferred form of construction for carrying my invention into eifect, this is capable of variation and modification.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

Cir

In a locking device for locking pivoted closures to fixed parts, said fixed part having a keeper, a pivot adjacent the free edge of said pivoted closure, a handle swingable about said pivot, a pivot secured upon said handle, a hook pivoted upon the pivot secured upon the handle, said hook being provided with a projection and having a curved guide slot, a spur carried by said pivoted closure and engaging in said slot, a spring attached at one end to the closure and at the other end to a point of said hook spaced from its pivot, whereby when in inoperative position the bottom of the hook slot abuts against its guiding spur, the length of said slot being such that in the inoperative position the spur abuts an end of the slot and opposes rotation of the handle, the keeper being in the path of the hook projection when said closure is moved in the closing direction by means of the handle whereby engagement of said projection with the keeper causes the hook to slide upon its guiding spur to permit the rotative movement of the handle in its latching direction, and said hook engages with the staple to latch the closure in closed position.

LEON JULIEN MOLLET. 

